


and everything was green

by grumblebee_dani



Category: Mad Max Fury road, Mad Max Series (Movies)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fix-It, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Kidnapping, New Family, Rescue, Smut, Strangers to Lovers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-10
Updated: 2020-06-10
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:29:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24636106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grumblebee_dani/pseuds/grumblebee_dani
Summary: what if there was a green place? one that replaced the swamps that furiosa found instead of her childhood home.the oasis was built into a mountain range far away from the citadel and when one of its citizens gets captured during a routine scouting mission, she is faced with the harsh truth behind the stories of immortan joe and his war boys that gave her nightmares as a child.
Relationships: Capable/Nux (Mad Max), Slit (Mad Max)/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	1. Chapter 1

When Memphis woke up, everything was dark. She wasn't sure that she was really still alive until she felt a trickle of what must have been blood run down her face. She wiped it away with the back of her hand and sat up. The ground underneath her was definitely rock, but it had been smoothed over to make a decent floor.

Her head pounded and her heart raced as the memories of the last two days ran rampant through her mind. She had agreed to take Fenya's spot in a scout car for the day while she got over a cold. Gage drove while she watched the wasteland through long-lookers for any lost souls that had ended up stranded. They hadn't seen anyone by the time they reached the Limit Stone so they turned back.

Recalling the next few minutes was difficult, but Memphis could piece together that another car had raced out from beyond the Stone and crashed into them, sending her tumbling out of the loosely secured passenger door into the sand. She had no idea what happened to Gage, but she must have fallen unconscious from the impact because she woke up in the car that had run into them. The world was hazy and spots danced in front of her eyes in the few moments before she passed out again. She noticed that the man next to her kind of looked like the war boys Dizzy told her about, but that was all her muddled mind could manage. 

The next thing she knew, she was being shaken out of sleep by the man to dribble a tiny amount of water down her throat. If she hadn't been knocked around so hard she would have surely had a few choice words for him. Instead, she bared her teeth at him and scooted back until she was as far away from him as she could get. It wasn't much of a distance, but he would have to reach if he wanted to touch her. The man made no indication of what he thought of the situation, just capped the water canteen and watched as she closed her eyes again.

That was the last thing she remembered before waking up in the dark. It didn't explain the blood, but she had been moved in her sleep, so maybe she fought back in a semiconscious state. Maybe her captors just didn't think to be careful when they brought her in. Either way, she needed to staunch the flow. 

Memphis took pride in her work back at the Oasis, and so her experience as a medic was more substantial than some others who worked at the medbay alongside her. She unwound one of the strips of linen on her arms to keep the sun off and folded it before pressing the bundle to her head. She winced as she sought out the right placement. Things would have been much easier with some light, but at that moment she was just grateful to be alone and without distraction.

After a while of sitting around by herself, a door opened just enough to let a sliver of light through. It also brought some fresh air, which she appreciated. She thought about calling out to whoever had opened the door, but all she could do was sit up before it closed again. So much for a change of scenery.

Some time later, the door opened again. It wasn't just ajar this time though, it was opened all the way by a war boy holding a lantern. Memphis found herself appraising him as he entered the room, watching to see what he might be like before making a move. He looked like a typical war boy with scarifications and black face paint over white powdered skin. The only thing that might differentiate him from his brothers was a scar that extended the corners of his mouth into a permanent smile.

"You just gonna sit there?"

His voice was rough and heavily accented. Memphis knew some people back at the Oasis who sounded similar, but there were so many different types there that everyone ended up sounding like a mix.

"Is there a reason I shouldn't?"

He just snorted and set the lantern down nearby before plopping himself down beside her.

"Name's Slit. I drew the short straw and got sent in here to watch you."

"What for?"

He gave her a sideways look. "You're gonna be Scrotus' new wife."


	2. Chapter 2

"Scrotus? The hell kinda name is that? Sounds like he's got people calling him 'nutsack' behind his back...least I would."

Slit stared in amused surprise. "You're telling me you really don't know who Scabrous Scrotus is?"

Memphis shrugged. "Don't know anybody around here."

He pondered that, black painted brows knitting together on his slashed up face. "He's the Immortan's son. Kind of a big deal." He waited for any sign of recognition, prodding a little more when he got none, "Immortan Joe is in charge of the Citadel. He was blessed by V8 and he's going to lead us all to the gates of Valhalla."

Memphis raised an eyebrow. "If he's so important, how come I've never heard of him?"

Slit scowled, but his scars kept smiling. "Not my fault you don't know nothin' about anything." 

She heaved a sigh. "Look, I'm not from around here." 

He scoffed. "Like I couldn't tell. Don't even know the carkin' Immortan. Next you're gonna tell me you never drove a car before."

"I've driven a car, you dolt!" Taking a deep breath, she started over. "I've only ever heard of a place like this in _stories,_ okay? So forgive me if it's a little weird for me to be hearing about a guy I thought was made up."

Slit cocked his head and stared at her for a moment. "You thought he wasn't real?"

Memphis scuffed her foot around in the dirt. "Well...yeah. The city I'm from takes in lost war boys sometimes, but the way they talk about the Citadel always sounds like a story; same as my ma used to tell me about the people who lived in the sky and brought the storms." She looked at him in the low lamplight. "Nothin' but fantastical shit to keep your mind from frying out in the Wastelands."

"Well they were sayin' the same shit, right? That's gotta count for something."

She shrugged. "None of 'em really like talking about it. They'll go on and on about the cars they worked on, but the other stuff hurts too much to say, I guess. If I ever heard anything else, it sounded crazy."

Slit pondered this. "Do they...stop being war boys?"

He sounded troubled, like the thought didn't sit right with him.

"I don't know. I think even if they wanted to, there's always gonna be some war boy left in 'em."

He seemed satisfied with that and didn't ask any more questions. Head still throbbing, Memphis rubbed her palms against her eyes and soaked in the silence until she couldn't take any more.

"Why am I gonna be married to this Scrotus guy, anyways?"

Slit rubbed the back of his shaved head. "Dunno. It's not like I'm at the top of the chain, here."

She snickered. "Still sore about getting shoved in here with me?"

He grinned back at her. "Not so much anymore. You're alright for a breeder."

Memphis shot him a look that turned the mood from casual to deadly serious. " _What_ did you just call me?"

Sensing the sudden change, he leaned away from her snarl. "Uh, you're a woman ain'tcha? Not like we're having the pups."

Seething, she looked him straight in the eye so that he couldn't ignore a word she said. "Is that all you think a woman is good for?"

"Don't really know of 'em doing much else." His back was against the wall with nowhere left to go.

Memphis growled low in her throat. "This has got to be some sick joke. You're telling me that the only women you've _ever_ seen were only around to be bred like animals?"

Slit nodded and waited to see if her temper would worsen.

To his surprise, her hands came up to rub the anger away from her face. "Can't really blame you for it then. Just..." She sighed and met his eyes again. "I was taught that every person I meet is my equal until they prove themselves to be unworthy. No one is above anyone else until someone forfeits trust and respect. Do you understand?"

However peeved he was at being talked to this way, he was relieved to be free of her anger. "Sure...I get it. We're equals."

"Yeah. I know you're probably just agreeing with me now, but eventually I think you'll actually believe it."

Unsure, he just nodded.

Laying on the dusty ground, she crossed her arms over her stomach and closed her eyes. "Thanks for not going off at me about how women are worthless outside of making pups. I've heard it before and it's a waste of everybody's time."

Raising an eyebrow, he laid down beside her with the lantern between them. "Yeah...no problem."


	3. Chapter 3

"So are you just gonna rot in here with me until it's time for me to get hitched?" They had been laying in the low lamplight for what felt like hours.

"Dunno. Maybe. Just said I had to keep watch, not how long or anything."

"Lame."

Slit huffed a laugh and rolled over to look at her. "What, you bored or somethin'?"

Memphis sighed heavily and poked at the cut on her head. Sensing that she was no longer bleeding, she let her hand fall limp back to her side. "Aren't you?"

"Quit answering my questions with more questions," he scolded.

"Quit askin' stupid questions you know the answers to then."

He mumbled some nasty words under his breath and sat up with a groan. "Look, br- _Memphis."_ Caught himself just in time, but he still got a glare thrown at him. "All I know is that the guy, who told me I had to sit in here to make sure you didn't do anything you shouldn't, said you were gonna be Scrotus' wife, and that's it. That's all I can say, so take it or leave it ya nuthead."

She stayed quiet for a long moment, stretching the silence like dough rolled too thin.

Slit scratched at his most recent scar.

"What's it like bein' a war boy?"

He cast her a wayward glance and sighed. "Not much to it, really. Ya learn yer place, do yer work, pray sometimes, then one day ya die and enter Valhalla if you've got the balls ta earn it."

His drawl got stronger when he pondered his words before saying them. She liked the sound of it.

"Surely there's more to life than that...Whaddya do for fun around here?"

Slit narrowed his eyes, making it even harder to see her darkened form. "Why do ya wanna know?"

Memphis let out a dramatic groan and tossed an arm over her eyes. "I'm booooored. You don't wanna talk, then don't, but I'm just gonna pester you until I get somethin' outta ya."

He rolled his eyes and let his lips stretch the permanent smile cut into his face. "Can't argue with that, can I?"

"Nope." She peeked out from under her arm.

"Well, I guess it depends on the war boy, but I love drivin' around. Don't matter where I'm goin' or who I'm with. Bein' behind the wheel is best, but I don't mind bein' a lancer. Let's me see the explosions better anyways."

Memphis watched him pick at his skin as he talked. When a bead of blood showed up under his fingernails, the medic in her couldn't help but put her hand over his.

He stopped, eyes snapping to meet hers in the semi-darkness. He let her remove his hand and squeeze it once before wiping the blood away with the cloth she had been using for her own wound. She folded it until a clean spot was available, then gently patted at the scar until the cloth came away clean.

He stared at her, unsure and almost in awe of how she touched him. There was no hurry, no harshness, like he was used to from the other boys. This was the touch of someone who cared more about his comfort than whether he could get back out on the road.

When Memphis sat back and looked up at him, he was still in a sort of trance. His eyes flicked from her hand, to his scar, then up to her face. Familiar with how confused patients could lash out, she slowly raised the same fingers she had cleaned him with to his cheek. Slit closed his eyes for just a second, then they popped back open and the trance was gone.

Her fingers were warm and soft on his face. She had callouses and dried blood crusted over the tips, but anything was softer than what he knew. Slit grabbed her wrist, hesitating for a moment before yanking her hand away. "What makes you think you can just do somethin' like that?"

His words were whispered, and they lacked the bite he so clearly wanted to cover his vulnerability with. Memphis just cocked her head and stared at where he was still holding her wrist until he noticed and let go like she had burned him.

"Don't go gettin' any funny ideas, girlie."

She smiled and left her hand close enough for him to hold it again. "None that you haven't thought of already, tough guy."

He growled, but didn't move any farther away than she had.

A burst of blinding light severed the darkness between them as another war boy slid a plate across the floor. "Eat up. Can't getcha any more til mornin'."

Slit cleared his throat and reached for it. "Thanks Ace."

The other boy, who was past the age of such a word, just grunted and closed the door.

Plunged back into darkness and adjusting to the difference, Slit held the plate until he could see to out it down.

He pushed a larger portion of it to her side. "Ya need yer strength after gettin' tossed around on the way here."

Memphis frowned. "How-"

"Saw ya get carried by where I was workin'. You were bleedin' too. Now you better eat that before I can get to it."

She gave him a look that added another tally to the soft feeling she kept giving him. Slit didn't regret giving her the food he could've had for himself when she started tearing into it like she hadn't eaten in days. He needed to get away from this meddlesome outsider before he got the sense knocked out of him by her softness.


End file.
